Have you ever heard of Tapping? No, electric guitar is not involved. It’s a technique that targets negative energies to solve a problem. I tried it on myself because of my hip joint problem. At ﬁrst I did not believe it was going to help, but I have to say that it works. I then decided to devote some posts to Tapping, starting from an interview with Tapping practitioner Domizia Parri (who has already written a few guest posts for the Daily Pinner). Check also Domizia’s guest posts about treating tired eyes with Tapping and treating sport injuries with Tapping.

Hello, Domizia. Firstly, tell us what Tapping is and what does it work for.Hello, I’m very happy to do so. Tapping or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is an energy technique derived from acupuncture. It’s used to “reset” any physical or emotional imbalance. It is a very simple technique, and quick to learn. The basic principle states that negative feelings are related to energy blocks within us. These blocks keep negative energies “active”, and to get rid of them we stimulate energy points in our body, tapping on them with the tip of our ﬁngers.
Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, suggests to try on everything: phobias, anxiety attacks, physical pain, stress, insomnia, nightmares, poor memory, social anxiety, elaboration of mourning, mood swings.

Has Tapping any scientiﬁc bases?Tapping is applied to 15 acupuncture points, selected from over 800. Those points are located along the canals of Bonghan, aka “meridians”, that run through our body. These channels are very thin and contain mostly hyaluronic acid. Through the application of needles (in acupuncture) or stimulation with ﬁngers (as in Tapping), on 15 main points (which are the “outlets” of the channels) the functionality of these meridians improves, thus alleviating many physical and emotional problems.

At ﬁrst glance, it may look like too rapid and shallow technique to work well …It’s not superﬁcial, even if it does work fast, because it acts directly on our energy meridians. Negative feelings that we target with Tapping are linked to energy blocks, so to get rid of them both, you must stimulate the stronger energy points of the body, tapping on them with the tip of your ﬁngers. Meanwhile, keeping the focus on the negative feeling will help eliminate it. Even one Tapping session can solve relevant problems; it would be best to do it every day, that way the results are truly amazing. Imagine these energy channels as your favorite room: if you want to keep it tidy you must do the dusting and airing every day, otherwise you’ll be needing a lot of work to get back on track!

Isn’t it “dangerous” to focus too much on the negative aspects?It’s actually focusing on the negative aspects that the Tapping works, unblocking them ﬁrst and then deleting them. It is necessary to be clear about the problems to be dealt with Tapping, speaking them aloud while tapping. In this way, you address them speciﬁcally, ‘reprogramming’ your energy. You cannot clean a room without looking at the dirt, can you? Of course, after this ﬁrst part of “cleaning” we can keep Tapping with positive afﬁrmations: it’s like bringing in a clean room a nice bunch of fresh ﬂowers!

What prompted you to study Tapping?As it often happens, it was a personal issue. I’ve been an amateur horse rider and show jumper for years, and in the spring of 2012 I started suffering inexplicably (because I never fell from a horse) of panic symptoms during my show jumping training: I broke in a cold sweat, felt nausea, hyperventilation, tachycardia, dizziness. I ﬁnally googled for a possible remedy, and I came across Tapping. I immediately tried it out and in a few days I was able to jump my horse again.

Is Tapping by yourself as effective as doing it with a practitioner?Tapping on your own is certainly a great way to address and solve many problems, however, a practitioner is able to help a person face certain blocks, which can be the origin of the problems experienced. Often one is not able to deal with certain deep issues without the guidance of an expert Tapper.

How many minutes should a Tapping session last?Usually when you feel negative thoughts or feelings disappear as you tap, it’s time for a ﬁnal round of positive afﬁrmations and gratitude. It can last from 5 minutes up to an hour, depending on what you are tapping about.

I read that some people cry the ﬁrst few times they try Tapping: it is a bad sign?It is normal to cry, at ﬁrst, it’s a way to vent the energy out of the body as it unblocks. It does not happen necessarily, but it does happen. Anyway it’s a good sign: it means that the Tapping is working. Other good signs are: yawning, deep sighs, sudden fatigue. In fact, throwing away an emotional block or burden can leave you with a feeling of emptiness, sometimes.

Finally: do you have to believe in Tapping, for it to work?Absolutely not. You may well be skeptical, just as with a cough syrup: there’s no need to believe in its effectiveness, it works on your body anway, right? You just let it do its “work”. I myself must confess that I do not believe much, initially, when I do my self Tapping on new issues, even though by now I’ve used it to solve so many problems both physical and emotional! But then I say to myself, okay, let’s try EFT… rather than taking a drug or stay angry all day! And every time, to my amazement, I ﬁnd that it works … ;-)

IMAGE LEGEND:
1: Karate Chop
2: Top of the Head
3: Beginning of the Eye Brow
4: Side of the Eye
5: Under the Eye
6: Under the Nose
7: Chin
8: Beginning of the Collar Bone
9: Under the Arm
10: Below Nipple
11: Thumb
12: Index Finger
13: Middle Finger
14: Baby Finger
15: Gamut point (It is found on the back of either hand and is about 15mm behind and between the knuckles at the base of the ring finger and the little finger).